PTSD seminar focuses on drug use among vets

U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Sean Stevenson takes a knee while on a security patrol in Sangin, Afghanistan, June 6, 2011. Stevenson is a corpsman with Combined Anti-Armor Team 2, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 8. The U.S. Marines conduct frequent patrols through the area to show a presence and interact with the community to find ways to help the populace.(Photo: Cpl. Nathan McCord, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines)

Experts agree there’s a problem with opioid addiction in the Plymouth-Canton community, particularly among veterans, and now someone is doing something about it.

The Canton Community Foundation, in partnership with the Plymouth United Way, is hosting a post traumatic stress disorder seminar titled “Veterans Abusing Drugs and Alcohol: Trying to Mask the Trauma,” a panel discussion including a variety of experts aimed at helping veterans cope.

The seminar takes place 6-9 p.m. Friday, April 28, in Kresge Hall at Madonna University. It will feature a variety of experts in the field talking about the problem and then taking questions from the audience.

Break-out sessions will be available for individuals who wish to discuss their personal situation with one of the panel’s experts.

“We’re focusing primarily on veterans and the fact so many of them are self-medicating with drugs and alcohol,” said Beth Meade, managing director of the Canton Community Foundation.

The idea for this seminar was born at last fall’s annual veterans summit. After that summit, CCF commissioned a needs assessment, sending some 5,000 surveys out to the community to determine where the problems were.

The results of those surveys were examined by a 25-member panel that included representatives from Growth Works, the Canton-based substance abuse and chemical dependency services provider, the Canton Police Department and others. The panel determined the top issues such a seminar should examine.

“One of the things that came to the forefront was the huge opioid addiction coming into the Plymouth-Canton community,” Meade said. “That was reinforced by both Growth Works and the Canton Police Department.”

According to Growth Works’ Brian Spitsbergen, the Plymouth-Canton area is not only seeing a problem among young people ages 18-25, but also among the older folks, ages 50-55, many of whom have been introduced to drugs while being treated for medical issues.

“The younger users will often turn to drugs like heroin,” Spitsbergen said. “The older folks don’t typically move into heroin, but they stick to pills. They just keep upping the ante until they’re seeking multiple doctors to write them prescriptions.”

Spitsbergen said he hopes the seminar will raise awareness of these issues and help people struggling with drug abuse and addiction find a way to get the help they need.

“Opioids are really good at taking away the pain,” he said. “We hope to raise awareness that, when you get exposed to certain kinds of trauma, it can draw you into addiction. If there are specific ways we can be supportive, we can get people some help. Addiction as a whole is taking people down and quickly, so we want to look at next steps to get people the help they need right away.”

The panel will include Spitsbergen; Canton Police Department Community Relations Officer Patty Esselink; Lt. Mike Steckel of the CPD; Canton Fire Department Paramedic Bernie Brosnan; Christina Darrow of the Northville-based organization Legal Help for Veterans; Jack Holmes, veterans treatment coordinator for the 51st District Court in Waterford; Heather Cochran, a staff psychologist and the PTSD substance abuse disorder specialist at the Ann Arbor VA Healthcare Center; and Dr. Sam Wedes, a clinical psychologist from St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia.

Meade pointed out that it’s not just drug addicts the panel is designed to help.

“It’s for anyone suffering from PTSD of any kind,” she said. “We’ve got a really good panel of experts who are going to be in the room. A lot of experts are telling us they’re so happy we’re doing this. This is such a need in our area and it’s good to be addressing it.”

Registration is required for the seminar, being sponsored exclusively by Community Financial Credit Union. To register, go to www.cantonfoundation.org or call Meade at 734-495-1200.